


Color me in

by TheAverageOne11



Series: Zalex Week 2k20 [4]
Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Chance Meetings, Cuddling, First Kiss, First Meetings, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, hand holding, zalexweek2k20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25149886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAverageOne11/pseuds/TheAverageOne11
Summary: It's his Sophomore Year and Alex is the new kid at Liberty High School. Trying to navigate the new environment, he meets his soulmate completely by chance.Soulmates AU - You see the world in black and white until you meet your soulmate
Relationships: Clay Jensen/Scott Reed, Jessica Davis/Justin Foley, Montgomery de la Cruz/Winston Williams (mentioned), Zach Dempsey/Alex Standall
Series: Zalex Week 2k20 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816006
Comments: 16
Kudos: 66
Collections: Zalex Week 2k20





	Color me in

**Author's Note:**

> DAYYYY 3! I love soulmate AUs, guilty pleasure.  
> But yeah, this is for Zalex Week Day 3 - Soulmate AU  
> As always I am a little late, but I will try to do better next time

Alex was told, ever since he was a little kid, that blue and green are the colors that illuminate the world. They're complementary, giving nature it's perfect balance and harmony. He was told his eyes were blue, just like the daytime sky and the grass was green, just like his favorite hoodie. He was told they were beautiful, soft colors.

Alex couldn't see them.

To Alex, the world is dull. The mixture of black and white all around him only highlighting his misery, almost draining the happiness from his soul. He ached for the time when he would finally meet his soulmate for the first time, when their eyes would meet and their first words to each other would leave their lips; just like that, a rainbow of colors would flood everything around them, a warm sensation taking over their bodies. There would be no doubt. But again, so he was told.

His 16th birthday had come and gone, much like his freshman year. Alex felt more unsure than ever before, beginning to doubt the existence of his soulmate. High School was when he'd expected to meet his soulmate. A whole new world, with whole new people. But he'd been wrong. His parents had enrolled him in Hillcrest for freshman year, before it had proven too expensive for them and he was forced to transfer to Liberty High School for his sophomore year. It was probably for the best, after all, in Liberty he had his childhood friend - Clay. They haven't talked in awhile, even though they promised to always stay in touch. It was a runaway world and that notion proved to be an impossibility.

Today was the first day of sophomore year. Alex was nervous, but far less than his first day at Hillcrest. Though he didn't dare say it out loud, he started to doubt he'd ever see the world's true colors. The way the world was supposed to be seen. He picked up his favorite green hoodie, something he wasn't allowed to wear in Hillcrest, and smiled. His world is colorless, yet, he decides he likes the color green, even if it's grey to his eyes. But blue is a color he desperately wants to see. He always admired the sky, hoping that, just maybe, one day, he'd see its true colors.

Putting on his hoodie, he grabbed the notebook he bought, looking at it one more time and wishing he could see the real shades of colors on it's cover, before putting it in his backpack. He gave himself a once-over in the mirror. Everyone would be an expecting a new kid today, and he looked presentable enough. He exhaled and finally left the room, saying goodbye to his mom and dad and leaving for his first day of school.

* * *

"So, first day of school boys. Who's getting lucky this year?" Justin said, sitting down on a bench in front of the school with the rest of the jocks. Zach already winced, knowing that someone would bring his name up and how single he really was.

"Well, Dempsey over here is desperate at this point." Bryce joked, putting his arm around Zach's shoulder. The team laughed, but Zach didn't think it was funny.

"Cheer up, Dempsey! I still haven't found my soulmate either." said Diego, opening a can of soda across from him, taking a sip before continuing. "And Bryce, and Monty. Speaking of who, where is Monty?" He added, looking at Bryce, who started grinning.

"Oh, right. I still haven't told you guys about this." Bryce said, barely containing his laughter.

"Oh god... What did he do at the Hillcrest party?" Scott asked lazily, knowing that Monty and Bryce went to a Hillcrest party yesterday and also knowing that Monty had a talent for pissing people off.

"Well, after desperately hitting on the entire female population in hopes of making his world a little more colorful, against all odds he finally got lucky." Everyone at the bench gasped. "Unfortunately for Monty, turns out it was a guy." Bryce said, before finally being unable to stop himself from laughing, and it spread among the team. Monty had always boasted about how he would have the perfect female soulmate. "You should have seen the look on his face... Anyway, Monty being the romantic gentleman he is, proceeded to punch the living shit out of him in front of everyone." Bryce finished after clearing his throat, sounding a little more serious, but not because he cared, just out of convention.

"He did what?!" Zach exclaimed. He was so jealous to hear that Monty finally found his soulmate. He couldn't even imagine doing something like that.

"Don't worry about it. I took care of it of course. Took Monty to his house to apologize this morning. Don't want him pressing any charges. A few minutes in, Winston left to show Monty where the bathroom was, but neither came back for like 10 minutes. So I went to check up on them and heard some very aggressive moaning." Bryce said, looking disgusted. "So yeah, I figured it was time for ol' Brycey to leave."

"Well... Good on him... I think?" said Diego, looking way too amused by the whole situation.

"Yeah, maybe he will be less of an asshole now." Scott added bitterly, to which everyone scoffed. Zach however was still unamused. Even an asshole like Monty had found his soulmate, so why couldn't he?

"Well, better work on your game you guys, Jess told me there's some new kids transferring. That and the freshmen of course." said Justin, looking at Zach, Diego and Bryce. Bryce and Diego just seemed eager to try and get laid, but Zach just scoffed. Maybe he should just make peace with the dull, colorless world around him and move on with his life. He looked at the grass, trying to imagine what it would look like if it was green.

* * *

Alex took a deep breath as he entered the school grounds. It was certainly different from Hillcrest. But he couldn't help but wish he could see it with all its colors. He only took a few steps before he heard someone call his name from behind.

"Alex?!" Alex froze at the sound of his name, turning around to the source of the noise to find none other than Clay.

"Clay Jensen..." Alex said in disbelief, before running to give his old friend a big hug. He met him halfway, both patting each other on the backs.

"Man, has it been an entire year already?" said Clay, pulling away from the friendly embrace.

"Time flies. You look... exactly the same." Alex joked, taking a good look at Clay, who grinned.

"So do you! Only now with 100% more color!" said Clay, grinning sheepishly, looking as if he was awaiting some sort of reaction. It took Alex a couple of moments to get what Clay just said.

"Wait... you...?" Alex asked, looking at him with disbelief, his jaw dropped. Clay's grin just widened and he nodded excitedly. Alex felt a smile form on his lips. "Oh my god! That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Alex said, giving his friend another hug. Clay had found his soulmate... When he pulled away, he could no longer contain his curiosity. "Who is it?! You have to introduce me!" he added and just as Clay was about to say something, someone walked up to them.

"Hey Helmet." A girl greeted Clay warmly, then turned to Alex. "Hi, I'm Hannah. Hannah Baker. I'm new here." She said, holding out her hand. Another girl walked closely behind her.

"Hi. Alex Standall, also new here." He said, shaking her hand with a smile, then turning his head to the other girl who introduced herself as Jessica Davis.

"Ah, perfect. We're actually supposed to give you guys a tour of the school and help you guys out on your first day. I'm glad we found each other outside." Clay explained, walking in front of him next to Jessica. "Alright, I will take Alex, Jess you take Hannah." The three of them nodded and went inside the school. Jessica and Hannah surprisingly went in a separate direction from Clay, but Jessica was probably doing things in her own order.

"I work with Hannah at the Crestmont. I'm glad she transferred here too. School's gonna be much more fun with you guys around." said Clay as he was showing him a bunch of different classrooms and explaining their clubs and trophies. The hallways were filled with people he'd never seen before, yet it still looked so monotonous to Alex, because all he saw was different shades of black and white. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Clay. He could finally see the world the way it truly was, something Alex couldn't even imagine.

"These are the school locker rooms - Oh, look, right on queue. Those are our very own Liberty High Tigers, or as I like to call them, assholes." Clay said, pointing at the jocks making their way to the locker rooms from the other end of the hall. They didn't seem to hear what Clay said, but they all nodded or waved in his direction. Was Clay really that popular? But one of the jocks separated from the other ones and made his way over to them, beaming a smile at Clay.

"Hey." He said warmly as he stopped right in front of Clay before leaning down to peck Clay's lips. _Oh..._

"Hey." said Clay, smiling at him, his cheeks blushing. Alex couldn't help but smile at them. _So This was Clay's soulmate_. They looked so cute together. That's when Scott turned to look at him.

"Hello there. You must be the new kid. Name's Scott." He said with a grin, holding out his hand for Alex to shake, but this time, Clay introduced him.

"This is Alex, the friend from middle school i told you about." Scott nodded, putting his arm around Clay's shoulder, nudging him a little closer to him.

"Well welcome Alex. Let me know if you need anything. People here are pretty chill so don't be shy - oh, but steer clear of Monty and Bryce. Monty is violent all around but Bryce can be deceivingly nice." Scott said and Clay agreed with him almost immediately, which kind of terrified Alex. He was about to ask what they've done, when another question popped up in his head.

"How did you two meet?" He asked eagerly, looking at the two of them. The reaction confused him. Scott just grinned shyly, whereas Clay's face dropped in horror.

"Well, it's actually a really funny story. You see-"

"O-Oh hey, look! Literally anything else! Let's pay attention to it!" Clay yelled out suddenly in a desperate attempt to interrupt Scott, pointing at Justin, Jessica and Hannah walking up to them. Justin and Jessica were holding hands and looked at Clay like he was insane.

"What do you mean 'anything else'?" Jessica asked, looking very offended. Scott didn't look very surprised by Clay's reaction, just winced and looked down with a shy smile. He mouthed Alex a 'Sorry' which probably meant he couldn't tell him. Alex knew Clay for awhile, so he knew he lacked subtlety. However they met, it must have been really embarrassing for Clay.

"Alex, this is Jessica, Hannah and Justin!" said Clay, as if he hadn't met Hannah and Jessica just a few minutes prior. Jessica and Hannah exchanged a weird look, but all three of them just nodding at Alex with an awkward smile.

"Well, it was lovely to meet you Alex! We gotta go to football practice though, we'll catch up with you all later." said Scott, probably trying to help Clay escape the awkward situation he'd created as he patted Justin on the back and led him into the locker room. Just then, Alex saw two tall boys coming in from the other end of the hall. They were both very lean and muscular and very attractive. But one of them caught his eye in particular. He had the perfect jet black hair, deep black eyes. He was of Asian-American descent, by the looks of it.

"Who's that?" asked Alex.

"The one on the left is Monty, the one on the right is Zach. Zach is a really sweet person. As for Monty, Scott is right, stay away from Monty if at all possible." Clay explained, but Alex only caught the name of the boy on the right. _Zach._ Zach didn't seem to notice him until he was just about to enter the room, their eyes meeting for a split second before he disappeared.

"Ah that reminds me. Jensen! You owe me 20 dollars. Monty found himself a boyfriend, just like I predicted." Jessica announced proudly, her hands on her hips as they continued to walk the halls of the school.

"What?! No way! How? Who? When?" Clay looked extremely taken aback by the news. It turned out that Monty's soulmate was Winston Williams, and being from Hillcrest himself, Alex knew a few things about him. He recalls the boy introducing himself to him once, looking absolutely heartbroken afterwards, probably realizing that he wasn't his soulmate. Alex was happy for him, though based on what he heard about Monty, he wasn't entirely sure he should be.

The rest of the tour passed by relatively uneventfully, though Alex couldn't get Zach out of his mind. For a moment he wondered if maybe, there was a chance that Zach was his soulmate. But he immediately pushed the thought aside. That would be too easy and too lucky, and the universe doesn't allow good things to happen to him.

Besides, surely the world around him should have colorized the moment their eyes met, or perhaps talking was imperative. Alex started thinking about it. He realized he didn't actually know the specifics. The tour was over just in time for his second class of the day, which turned out to be English. He sat next to Jessica and Hannah, taking in the classroom. He recognized almost none of them. Then Clay and Scott entered the classroom, with Scott's arm placed lightly around Clay's shoulder. Alex couldn't help but smile, trying to imagine himself having something like that. That's when Zach entered the classroom close behind and Alex's breath hitched as Zach's eyes almost immediately seemed to find his. They maintained eye contact as Zach sat on the desk closest to the door, before finally turning away.

Alex didn't dare to look in his direction for the entirety of the class, feeling strangely uncomfortable. Zach was really attractive, which meant he couldn't be his soulmate. There was no way, that he got exactly the person he wanted. Winston didn't, so he couldn't afford to get his hopes up like that. But he couldn't escape the question... _What if he was?_

He finally turned to look his way then. Zach was talking to the girl behind him, having the cutest little smile on his face. Even from across the room, Alex could tell Zach was really charming, judging by the way the girl was playing with her hair nervously. Alex decided that he had to know; they were going to meet sooner or later and he'd rather it be on his terms.

As soon as the bell rang, Alex swiftly put his notebook in his bag, which as it turns out he didn't even need for his first day. He only wrote down his class schedule on it and let Clay write down a bunch of places he should visit around the town that he apparently didn't know about. Alex started making his way to Zach, who was putting his things away slowly and surprisingly elegantly, as if he had all the time in the world. He stopped right next to his desk, inhaling deeply as he thought of what to say. Zach hadn't even noticed him yet and just as he was about to say hello, Zach turned his head and noticed him. Whatever Alex wanted to say, the words never managed to leave his mouth. He choked and turned on his heel and left almost as soon as Zach looked at him. _That was close._

Later that day at lunch, was probably the worst part of the day for Alex. He found that he was sitting by himself, as he couldn't find Clay or Scott anywhere. He did however, see Zach. This time though, Zach didn't seem to notice him as he sat down in a table with a bunch of jocks. Next to them were Justin, Jessica, Hannah and who he assumed were some of the cheerleaders. He kept gazing at Zach, hoping that he sees him but also hoping that he doesn't see him equally as much. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand patting him on the back, and the push of the two chairs next to him. He looked up to see Scott, looking in the same direction he was just now.

"That's Zach Dempsey. Really sweet guy. His dad died this past summer, it's been really rough on him. I think that's why he's been trying to find his soulmate so intensively all summer. The team makes fun of him for it, but I understand how he feels." Scott explains as he sat down next to him. Alex tried to hide the embarrassed look on his face from having been caught staring at Zach.

"Yeah... He's just lonely. He was a total coward when it came to relationships last year. Always worrying about what Bryce or Monty would say if he tried talking to someone. So it's good that he's finally letting loose." Clay added, already seating in the chair to his left. Alex nodded gently, now more interested in Zach than ever.

Then, the jocks started speaking louder and with more excitement. They seemed to be daring Zach to do something, or maybe encouraging him, especially Monty and Bryce. Alex was relatively far away, so he only heard bits and pieces. "Come on, Zachy!" from Monty and "You already tried everyone else in this god forsaken school." Alex's heart stopped. It was more than a stretch, but he was the new kid, what if they were encouraging Zach to talk to him? Then, with a groan, Zach got up from his chair and Alex already readied himself to get out of the room if necessary.

But Zach didn't go towards his table, he didn't even look at it. In fact, he didn't really look at anything, keeping his head down, looking at the floor as he made his way to the table next to jocks. He looked really confident as he got up from the chair, but now that he was in front of Hannah, he didn't look confident anymore. No one was paying much attention besides the jocks and Alex, so Zach had that going for him at least.

A sadness overtook Alex. What if Hannah was Zach's soulmate? She was the new girl too. But Alex hadn't got his hopes up, he made sure of it, so why was he in so much pain and why was he so jealous?

Alex couldn't tell what was happening, but he let out a breath of relief when the interaction turned out to be short. Zach and Hannah seemed to have exchanged a few words, presumably introductions and then... nothing. Zach just took a couple of steps back, his body language screaming _'disappointed but not surprised'_ to Alex. With that, Zach swiftly made his way back to the table where his 'friends' were, who were already laughing at his misfortune. This time they were a little louder, and Alex could hear them clearly, which surely couldn't have helped Zach overcome the embarrassment of the situation. "Oh no, my sweet Zachy! Are you okay?" He heard Monty ask condescendingly, erupting into a laugh shortly after, but no one else at the table laughed except for Bryce. "Zach, buddy, you okay? Lookin' a little grey there pal" He heard Bryce say, cackling at his own joke with Monty. But Zach seemingly just ignored them, looking down at his lunch.

"Assholes..." Alex murmured to himself, not realizing he'd said it out loud as he glared at Monty and Bryce.

"Told you." said Scott, finally taking his attention away from them and focusing on his lunch. Alex kept looking at Zach however, and that's when he realized that he was starting to fall for someone he's never even spoken to and that terrified Alex, because the odds that Zach was his soulmate were slim.

Then, he realized, someone was looking back at him, but it wasn't Zach, it was Bryce. _That's not good._ Alex thought he was just overthinking it, but then a few other jocks turned to look his way, including Zach. _Shit!_ In just a couple of seconds he turned his attention towards Clay, asking him something about the robotics club that he didn't actually care about, but unfortunately he seemed to have touched a topic of interest for Clay because he started explaining everything with impressive enthusiasm; to the point where Alex had to say he needed to use the bathroom and left the table. He didn't dare look back at Zach and the other jocks, but he could still feel eyes on him. He hoped he was just paranoid and all but ran outside the cafeteria.

* * *

Zach was one step away from storming out of the cafeteria, not feeling nearly energized enough to deal with Monty and Bryce's sense of humor. But thankfully, they stopped, Bryce seemingly focusing his attention on something else. _Thank fucking god._

"Who the hell is that scrawny lookin' kid?" Bryce asked and almost immediately the entire team looked to where Bryce was looking. "And why is he staring at me like he wants to push me off a bridge?" Zach smiled as he imagined someone pushing Bryce off of a bridge before he looked at this 'scrawny looking kid' himself. He was surprised to see that it was the same guy from before. The other boy quickly looked away, talking to Clay, but Zach kept on looking. He remembers him stopping beside his desk in one of their classes, but he doesn't remember seeing him last year. For once he found himself agreeing with Bryce. Who is that boy?

"Maybe he has a thing for Monty. Guys seem to find him irresistible, isn't that right Monty?" Diego joked, giving Monty a friendly push.

"Fuck off. He's not even that cute." Monty retorted all too quickly and rather unconvincingly. He was cute though, Zach thought.

"You sure buddy? He looks right about your type." Bryce joked. The team starting snickering and Monty actually had nothing to say. knowing full well everyone knew about him and Winston. Zach would have been impressed by this, considering the only time Monty didn't say anything was whenever they were discussing anything remotely intelligent, if he wasn't so obsessed with that strange boy.

"He must be that new kid transferring from Hillcrest, can't be a freshman 'cuz we had a class together." Bryce explained, catching Monty's attention as soon as he said Hillcrest.

"Whoever he is, he's already friends with Romeo and Julius over there. He went to Hillcrest so he's probably loaded." Monty said. Zach was getting a little annoyed at the way they were talking about him, already looking for things they would gain out of being friendly with him.

"We could use another rich kid in the gang, I'm tired of paying for all your guys' shit. Zach's moma is keeping him on a tight leash so he doesn't really contribute much." Bryce said, looking at Zach with a smirk on his face. "Speaking of which, you should try your luck Dempsey. Might finally hit the jackpot." Bryce said, practically making fun of him as he gestured for him to go and talk to Alex.

Then, Zach noticed that Alex had got up from the table and he was leaving. A sudden spike of rage overtook him. What if he had heard them somehow and was leaving because of Bryce? It was a completely ridiculous notion, because Bryce wasn't speaking very loudly, yet Zach still felt very protective of him.

"You're just jealous because you know you probably don't even have a soulmate." Zach heard himself say before he could restrain himself. Bryce seemed to be surprised at the sudden retort.

"Ouch, stab me in the heart why don't ya." Bryce said, putting his hand over his heart melodramatically.

"I would if you had one." Zach spat back. He heard an echo of 'oooh's and gasps around him, but he didn't really care anymore.

"Okay, fair. But I will take still having my father over my heart any day." And then it was silent. The team started to look very uncomfortable and it took all the self-control Zach had not to punch Bryce in the face right then and there. Even Bryce seemed to regret his words, but whether he was pretending or not, Zach wasn't going to stick around to find out. He grabbed his bag and started heading out of the cafeteria, hearing Bryce call after him. He felt a sob escape him as he left.

* * *

Finding the bathroom was apparently much more challenging than Alex had anticipated. All the doors looked exactly the same, everything did; the same combination of different shades of grey. Not that he actually needed to use the bathroom, but he didn't really have anything else to do. He grabbed his notebook in which he had written down his schedule for the day from his backpack, trying to see which was his next class would be. Inattentive, he was about to pass a corner when he collided with something else hard, something simultaneously soft and firm. His notebook fell on the ground with a thud.

"I'm so sorry!" Alex apologized, not even looking at the other person as he bent down to grab his notebook. As he grabbed it, he saw that another hand grabbed it on the other end as well. He lifted his head nervously and saw him.

"I should be the one apologizing." Zach said softly, right before their eyes met. Then, something happened. Alex's eyes widen as the world around him begins to change, almost like an acid trip. He knows Zach sees it two because the other boy gasps. Neither lets go of the notebook, instead they both got up simultaneously, both still holding onto it. They were facing each other, but looking anywhere but. The lockers turned blue and the floor changed to a pattern of white tiles with a huge blue square every five tiles. The walls changed from grey to terracota as if a river had washed all the grey away.

Then, they finally focused solely on each other, the last hints of grey leaving their faces. They looked down at the notebook between them. The cover had been a transition from green to blue and Alex was holding the blue side and Zac the green side. They looked up at each other again, their eyes meeting for the umpteenth time in an unbelievably short period of time. Zach was grinning, his white teeth on full display as he stared at Alex with disbelief.

"It's you..." said Zach, letting out a soft breath, completely in awe. Then, Alex felt the taller boy leaning in, or maybe he leaned in first, he couldn't really tell, so he panicked and let go of the notebook, as Zach was still gripping it tightly. Zach's smile dropped slightly, beginning to show concern.

"I'm sorry, I-I just - I need some air." Alex then ran off, exiting the school before Zach could even process what just happened. He blinked, looking at the notebook in his hand, wondering what just happened. _Shit._ Zach ran after him, but he was nowhere to be seen. He ran outside the school and look at either side of the street, but they were empty. He was fast. He glanced at the notebook in sadness before the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. _Shit._

Clay was right. Clay was right when he told Alex to go up the hill overlooking the town and sit on the bench as soon as he met his soulmate. He's never felt so relaxed before. It was quiet, the only noises being of birds chirping and the wind blowing gently against Alex, the polluted city noises only a distant and muffled sound.

He closed his eyes, taking in the fresh air and the soothing wind against his hair. Before he opened them again, he inhaled deeply, bracing himself to be snapped back to reality when he sees grey everywhere once more.

But he didn't.

First he saw the beautiful blue sky, decorated with the soft, fluffy white clouds. He felt the heat of the sun over his head, which he couldn't really look at, but enjoyed the feeling of nonetheless. Then he looked around his feet, the fresh, green grass. matching the color of his hoodie perfectly. Then he looked at the trees, the perfect combination of green and brown and the various colors of the city.

He smiled, looking at the sky again. The piercing blue color reminding him of a certain someone. A certain someone's jacket. His soulmate's. It feels so surreal for Alex to say that word, that he almost thinks it's all a dream. But it's not. This was the world, and he was finally able to see it for what it truly was.

But then, he exhaled sadly, clutching the bench harder with his hands. He shouldn't have left Zach like that. He hates that the last thing he remembers was seeing his face drop from pure bliss to confusion and concern. Alex was never that good with dealing with emotions in the heat of the moment. He needed time to cool off and think. Nothing he ever felt could compare to that moment with Zach. He didn't even know him and he was pretty sure he was already in love with him, which was terrifying.

He looked at his watch and winced. It had been an hour since he left school. Skipping classes was probably not the best way to start his year at the new school off, but it wasn't the worst thing Alex had done by running away like that. He wondered if Zach was heartbroken, or if he understood and was patiently waiting for tomorrow. Something tells him it wasn't the latter.

He was right.

"Alex!" He heard a familiar voice call out behind him. Alex froze, turning around sharply and staring at Zach, his arm over the bench, in disbelief.

"Zach? What are you-? I mean - how did you-" Alex swallowed his words when he saw Zach hold up his notebook, proudly. He looked exhausted, but he smiled nonetheless. Then it dawned on him. Clay had written down the coordinates of this place in case he couldn't find it on his own and needed google maps, along with the rest of the places he should visit. But this one was the last one on the list, seeing as it was just coordinates.

"Did you go to every single one of those?" asked Alex in amazement, referring to the bullet list of about 20 locations.

"I may or may not have done that." Zach replied with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Jesus... Come sit down." Alex offered, scooting to the side to make room for him. Zach looked happy about the invitation and joined him. They didn't say much for a good minute, just staring ahead at the town and hearing Zach trying to catch his breath.

"How do you know my name?" Alex asked, finally breaking the silence and turning to look at Zach.

"Scott and Clay." said Zach, as if it was completely obvious. Which it was. "How did you know mine?" he asked, looking intrigued.

"Um, Scott and Clay...?" Alex said, almost teasingly. They both chuckled. But then, Alex's face turned serious. "Listen... I'm really sorry I bailed on you like that. I was feeling all of these things, my world changed completely and I didn't know how to-"

"It's okay, really. I understand. It was kind of intimidating wasn't it?" Zach chuckled, looking at Alex affectionately.

"Not at all what I expected." Alex said, nodding with furrowed brows.

"Right?!" Zach agreed enthusiastically, then relaxed again, recalling how it all looked like. Then he eyed Alex nervously. "Am I what you expected?" He asked, his tone vulnerable. Alex blushed.

"I don't know. To be honest i didn't really have any expectations. But if I did I think you'd surpass them." Alex replied, his cheeks getting even redder. There was a pause, Zach clearly didn't know what to say.

"Really? You don't even know me. I could be a monster." Zach teased, looking at Alex expectantly.

"I think I saw the actual monsters at lunch today." said Alex. Zach just smiled, looking in front of him again. There was another pause. Alex looked at him curiously. He gulped as he inched his left hand closer to Zach's right one. When their fingers brushed, Zach instinctively looked down at their hands, then immediately met Alex's eyes. His gaze was intense, but warm and welcoming as he laced their fingers together. Alex leaned in then, just a little bit to make his intention clear. But Zach didn't flinch, instead he looked at him with even more intensity, his eyes questioning him, asking the silent question 'are you sure?'. Alex leaned in even more and Zach finally moved, connecting their lips in a gentle kiss.

* * *

That bench on the hill, overlooking the city, turned into their own little spot. They'd go whenever they were in need of some peace and quiet. It was relaxing. Sometimes they'd even help each other study there too.

Today it was really cold, which only made the experience better because Zach let Alex wear his varsity jacket. It was obviously oversized on him, but it felt comfy and warm. They were sitting with their legs stretched out, with Alex sitting in-between Zach's legs as the bigger boy wrapped his arms around his stomach. Alex was attempting to draw Zach's face for the fifth time, getting better and better each time. Suddenly, Alex's phone vibrated. He took it out and saw that he'd received a picture from Clay. It was Clay and Scott eating spaghetti and it was captioned '6 month anniversary!!'. Alex smiled, but then thought of something.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how Scott and Clay met would you?" Alex asked, hopeful.

"Uh, yeah? Of course I do. Everyone at school knows about it." Zach replied. "Wait.... Do you not??" Zach asked then, tilting his head to the side so he can get a better look at Alex's face, even though he was behind him.

"I asked Scott once but Clay freaked out. I guess I just didn't want to push it." Alex admitted, shrugging. But Zach started laughing.

"Okay, brace yourself. This is not a story you hear everyday." Zach said. "Basically, last year when Clay was a freshman and Scott a sophomore, Scott started having a massive crush on Clay. But Clay was talking to this girl Sheri, who Scott thought for awhile was Clay's soulmate. Anyway, long story short, Scott found out that Sheri is actually just a friend, but Clay got in an accident with his bike and he was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. So, Scott, like a true gentleman, went to visit him in the hospital, flowers and chocolate and everything, it was such a cliche. But then, he walked into his room and-" Zach suddenly started cackling, but Alex elbowed him gently, now invested in the story.

"Sorry. Um - Scott walked into the room and he was like 'Clay how are you?' and Clay just said 'I shit the bed.' and just like that, they out they were soulmates." Zach started erupting into laughter, but Alex just had his mouth agape.

"No fucking way" Alex said, staring in disbelief.

"That's not even the best part! Scott told Monty for whatever reason, and Monty told pretty much everyone, which is how the whole school knows. Long story short, Clay got mad at Scott, so Scott got mad at Monty and it was just this whole thing. Monty started teasing him that Clay should change his name to Shit, which is about as intelligent as his insults can be, meanwhile Scott was trying to get Clay to forgive him... Oh, and don't even get me started on Christmas and Valentines Day..."

"Please, keep going, I need to know everything!" Alex begged.

"Hmm, I don't know. Clay will want my head on a spike if he finds out I told you. Gonna have to make it up for me." Zach said, kissing the back of his neck. Then, Alex shifted so he was facing Zach.

"No you don't understand, this is art. It needs to be published in book form." Alex joked before placing a soft kiss on Zach's lips. Based on Zach's face, he looked far too captivated by the other boy's lips to have even heard what he said.

"And adapted for the screen." Zach added, still looking at Alex's lips before leaning in and kissing him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> This could have been shorter, yes, but eh I like it this way. The ending is for a very special part of the 13RW Fandom. You know who you are :)  
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated :)
> 
> And of course, there is fanart to go along with this fic, made by the lovely entropicartist on tumblr :)  
> https://entropicartist.tumblr.com/post/623081575354138625/in-a-world-where-everything-is-greyscale-until-you


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